The Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize honors internationally celebrated North Carolina novelist Thomas Wolfe. The winner receives $1,000 and possible publication in The Thomas Wolfe Review. Facilitated by Anthony S. Abbott, professor emeritus of English at Davidson College, the competition is open to all writers regardless of geographical location or prior publication.

Marianne Gingher is the final judge. Her work has appeared in many periodicals and journals including The Oxford American, Southern Review, and the New York Times. Her novel, Bobby Rex's Greatest Hit, was made into an NBC "Movie-of-the-Week" in 1992, starring Tom Wopat and Jean Smart. Both Bobby Rex and Teen Angel (her short-story collection) were recipients of ALA Notable and Best Book awards, and Bobby Rex won North Carolina's Sir Walter Raleigh prize in 1987. Her memoir A Girl's Life received a Foreword Magazine "Book of the Year" citation in 2001. Gingher directed the Creative Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1997-2002.

Thomas Wolfe wrote one of the great coming-of-age novels of the twentieth century: Look Homeward, Angel. Although he was known for submitting voluminous manuscripts to his editor, submissions for the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize should not exceed twelve pages (one-inch margins, double-spaced). The contest deadline is January 30, 2014; the winner will be announced in April.

Kevin Winchester of Waxhaw, NC, won the 2013 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize. Ashley Memory of Pittsboro, NC, was named First Honorable Mention; Jacob Appel of New York, NY, was named Second Honorable Mention.

Here are the complete guidelines:

Contest opens December 1; deadline is January 30, 2014.

The competition is open to all writers regardless of geographical location or prior publication.

The nonprofit North Carolina Writers’ Network is the state’s oldest and largest literary arts services organization devoted to writers at all stages of development. For additional information, visit www.ncwriters.org.